“The law,” sayst thou, “must be obeyed.”  I answer, “Christ Jesus has done that in his own person, and justified me thereby; and for my part, I will not labor now to fulfil the law for justification, lest I should undervalue the merits of the man Christ Jesus, and what he has done without me; and yet will I labor to fulfil, if it were possible, ten thousand laws, if there were so many.  And Oh, let it be out of love to my sweet Lord Jesus; for the love of Christ constraineth me.”

Though no man can be justified by the works of the law, yet unless the righteousness and holiness by which they attempt to enter into this kingdom be justified by the law, it is in vain once to think of entering in at this strait gate.  Now, the law justifieth not, but upon the account of Christ’s righteousness; if therefore thou be not indeed found in that righteousness, thou wilt find the law lie just in the passage into heaven to keep thee out.

Christ A complete saviour.

“This is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.”  John 6:39.

The Father therefore, in giving them to him to save them, must needs declare unto us the following things: 

1.  That he is able to answer this design of God to save them to the uttermost sin, the uttermost temptation.  Hence he is said to “lay help on one that is mighty,” mighty to save.  Sin is strong, Satan is also strong, death and the grave are strong, and so is the curse of the law; therefore it follows, that this Jesus must needs be by God the Father accounted almighty, in that he hath given his elect to him to save them from these, and that in despite of all their force and power.  And he gave us testimony of this his might, when he was employed in that part of our deliverance that called for a declaration of it.  He abolished death; he destroyed him that had the power of death; he was the destruction of the grave; he hath finished sin, and made an end of it; he hath vanquished the curse of the law, nailed it to his cross, triumphed over them upon his cross, and made a show of these things openly.  Yea, and even now, as a sign of his triumph and conquest, he is alive from the dead, and hath the keys of death and hell in his own keeping.

2.  The Father’s giving them to him to save them, declares unto us that he is and will be faithful in his office of Mediator, and that therefore they shall be secured from the fruit and wages of their sins, which is eternal damnation.  And of this the Son hath already given a proof; for when the time was come that his blood was by divine justice required for their redemption, washing, and cleansing, he as freely poured it out of his heart as if it had been water out of a vessel; not sticking to part with his own life, that the life which was laid up for his people in heaven might not fail to be bestowed upon them.